Cutting a mortise in the edge of a door or in a door frame to receive a hinge is typically accomplished using a chisel, router or other cutting tool. Numerous devices have been designed to increase the accuracy and otherwise simplify cutting of such mortises. The original practice of cutting the mortise with a chisel was first replaced with a box-like device having sharp blades on three of the four edges of the box. This device was then placed with the cutting edges against a door edge or door frame and struck with a hammer, driving the cutting edges into the wood to the desired depth. This provided a clean rectangular cut in the wood which could then be chiseled out with a hand chisel to provide a mortise. A separate box was required, however, for each hinge size.
The use of a router to cut mortises has been enhanced with templates which are attachable to the door edge or door frame. Typically, the templates provide an opening to receive the router blade and by guiding the router blade around the inside of the opening, a mortise may be cut. Examples of such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,501,308 to Sherman; U.S. Pat. No. 3,392,762 to Greenley; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,150,452 to Meuwissen. These devices provided means for receiving a router to cut a mortise; however, duplicate guides for each size of hinge or striker plate were required. Numerous highly complex devices to provide various size templates within a single structure were devised as exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,738,013 to Gregory; 3,559,704 to Thompson; 3,184,859 to Patrick; and 4,553,336 to Ponce. Each of these devices required numerous moving parts and extensive detail machining to accomplish the desired adjustment for various hinge sizes.